Council apologises after councillor votes in error

Ranjit Gill, above, mistakenly attended the licensing panel meeting, despite not yet being appointed

Hounslow Council has apologised after a councillor attended and voted at a meeting when he was not meant to do so.

Ranjit Gill, Labour councillor for Chiswick, attended a meeting of the council's licensing panel on 15 July, where he voted on a licensing application.

However, he had not yet been officially appointed to the panel in what the council called a "misunderstanding", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

This means the decision is null and void and the meeting must be held again in the coming weeks, which the council said could cost up to £500.

Gill had not initially been appointed to the panel when most selections were made in May.

He was later nominated after the council said further changes to the committee were needed.

Gill then undertook licensing training, but was not yet an official member of the committee.

However, council officers believed he had already been appointed, so he was mistakenly included in the 15 July meeting.

The council apologised and said the meeting would need to be held again in the coming weeks

The issue was raised at a full council meeting on 22 July, when Conservative councillor Jack Emsley called Gill's attendance at the licensing panel a "breach of the constitution".

Benita Edwards, the council's director of law and governance, confirmed there had been a breach and apologised for the error.

She added: "I have concluded that the meeting of the licensing panel wasn't properly convened; it is as if the meeting never took place, and any decisions are effectively null and void."

After the meeting, Emsley said: "Residents in Chiswick will rightly feel frustrated not only that Gill's actions jeopardised the decision taken by the panel and caused an unnecessary delay, but that taxpayer money will now be wasted in having to reconvene the meeting."

A council spokesperson said that they cannot confirm an exact cost of holding another meeting, but that it is expected to be between £250 to £500.

This is to cover the additional costs for legal support.